RERA forum asked to resolve cases in 60 days, but can it?

This picture has been used for representational purpose

MahaRERA, with an intent to strengthen the conciliation and dispute resolution forum, has come out with a fresh circular, dated November 8, stating that the complaints need to be addressed and resolved within 60 days' time period, with an extension of another 30 days. The forum was formed with an objective to facilitate resolution of disputes harmoniously, thereby saving cost and time of litigation to parties and the state.

While the move has been welcomed by RERA experts, many are concerned about the over 5,400-plus pending cases, and the number is only increasing. Chartered Accountant and RERA expert Ramesh Prabhu feels that MahaRERA has definitely given the conciliation forum more teeth. "But, it is time that they set up a system by which pending cases are resolved too." As of today, the pending cases before MahaRERA are 5,459 as against 83 cases that are before the conciliation forum, said Prabhu.

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who practices in RERA, said that since RERA mandates disposal of complaints within a period of 60 days from date of filing, the same yardstick should be applied to conciliation meetings. "Within the first meeting itself, one gets a sense of whether the parties are keen on a settlement or not." He added, "Often persons authorised to take decisions on the spot are missing and as such the conciliation meetings get prolonged and postponed."

Godfrey Pimenta, Nilesh Gala and Ramesh Prabhu

Some like Nilesh Gala, advocate and secretary, RERA Practitioners Welfare Association, have previously had little faith in the conciliation mechanism. "I used to think that it was a waste of time, as there used to be a substantial delay in hearing of complaints. There was no clarity on timelines for conciliation meetings either." The new circular, he says, gives more clarity. "Timelines have been fixed. This was needed since there was less transparency on positing of matters before the conciliation committee and referring the matter back to MahaRERA if the conciliation failed. The complainant can apply to MahaRERA, if the same is not met," said Gala.

Given the distrust in settlement mechanisms, advocate Akash Menon said, "This will help reinstate the faith of the litigants in the conciliation process." However, Vinod Sampat, advocate and founder president, Cooperative Societies and Resident Users Association, isn't yet sure about how effective the process is going to be. "Flat purchasers are not that conversant with court proceedings, so lawyers try to take time and delay the matter." Sampat said that if the government is serious about addressing the concerns of complainants, it should provide more budget to RERA authorities and increase the staff by five times at least, to take care of the backlog. "The need of the hour is to ensure that the implementation of orders is done in letter and spirit."